Field of the Invention
The present invention relate to a fuel cell vehicle including a fuel cell stack comprising a plurality of fuel cells stacked, a stack case containing the fuel cell stack, and a vehicle body equipped with the stack case inside the vehicle body.
Description of the Related Art
For example, in a solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell, an electrolyte membrane (polymer ion exchange membrane) is interposed between an anode and a cathode to form a membrane electrode assembly (MEA). The membrane electrode assembly is sandwiched between a pair of separators to form a power generation cell. Generally, a fuel cell includes a predetermined number of power generation cells stacked together and is mounted, for example, as a vehicle fuel cell stack, in a fuel cell vehicle.
In respect of the fuel cell vehicle, there is a concern that a fuel gas, in particular, hydrogen, may leak into a space where the fuel cell stack is mounted. Therefore, in an attempt to discharge the hydrogen leaked from the fuel cell stack to the outside efficiently, for example, a fuel cell vehicle disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-040950 has been proposed.
In this fuel cell vehicle, a closed space is positioned in front of a passenger compartment, and the fuel cell is mounted in the closed space. Then, as necessary, a first opening is provided at an upper position of the closed space. A second opening is provided at a position where a negative pressure is generated during traveling of the vehicle. The hydrogen leaked from the fuel cell system is discharged into the closed space.
According to the disclosure, in the case where the opening is provided at the upper position of the closed space, especially when the vehicle is stopped, the hydrogen leaked from the fuel cell system into the closed space can be driven out of the vehicle. Further, according to the disclosure, in the case where the opening is provided at the position where the negative pressure is generated, during traveling of the vehicle, the hydrogen leaked from the fuel cell system can be discharged from the closed space.